Seahawks sink a little bit lower, 65-56

Staten Island Advance file photoWagner College sophomore Chris Martin led the Seahawks with 18 points in a Monday night loss to NJIT.Wagner College took its biggest hit of an already difficult season Monday night when the Seahawks lost 65-56 to New Jersey Tech at Spiro Center, giving the fledgling Division 1 Highlanders a sweep of the home-and-home series and dropping Wagner to 2-11.

That’s 2-11 with four straight road games just ahead, beginning at Princeton on Wednesday; the kind of 2-11 that could turn into 2-15 in a relative blink, and sink the Seahawk season entirely.

"We’re in trouble," Wagner coach Mike Deane acknowledged after his club shot just 34 percent from the floor and went a less-than-spectacular 10 of 19 from the free-throw line. "We have been playing poorly and we have to find a way to recover."

Soph guard Chris Martin led the Seahawks with 18 points, and center Michael Orock picked up his second double-double of the season against the 4-8 Highlanders with 11 points and 10 rebounds.

But Wagner trailed 26-24 at the half and 36-30 five minutes later.

And with seven minutes to go, NJIT, which hadn’t won a road game in nearly three years, went on a 10-3 run to take a 57-46 advantage from which Wagner would never rebound.

The Seahawks had plenty of opportunities, mind you

NJIT, under Island native and one-time Wagner assistant Jim Engles, is leaps better than it was last season when the program put the finishing touches on a 51-game losing streak and the then first-year coach had to suffer through a one-win season.

But it’s not like the young, undersized Highlanders are even close to being a finished product.

They turned the ball over 24 times last night, went only 3 of 14 from three-point range and surrendered 15 steals to the Wagner defense. Still, the Highlanders accomplished more than enough to win, getting 25 points from guard Chris Flores, and locking down the Seahawks defensively on what seemed like every critical moment.

"We got our butts kicked," was Deane’s conclusion. "Their pressure bothered us. No one made free throws. We have no one to blame but ourselves. They played harder than we did."

That was the plan, according to Engles, who grew up in West Brighton, and played high school ball at St. Peter’s.

"I told our guys at halftime that if we let them, Wagner would take the game away from us," he said. "I told them we had to be aggressive and play defense. We did that."

And if all that bad news wasn’t enough for the struggling Seahawks, the main cog in the Highlanders’ deciding second-half spurt was home-grown Curtis product Isaiah Wilkerson.

With six minutes to go and NJIT holding a slim 47-43 edge, Wilkerson sailed in a long corner jumper from just inside the three-point line. Thirty seconds later, he was fouled by Wagner’s Josh Thompson while attempting a three and converted all three free throws. A few seconds after that, he made one of two free throws after being fouled by Orock on a drive to the rim.

The Wilkerson solo run widened NJIT’s lead to what would prove to be an insurmountable 53-43.

But Wagner passed on the younger brother, who finished with 19 points to go along with six rebounds. The rugged 6-foot-3 sophomore had ripped of a double-double of 17 points and 13 rebounds in NJIT’s 56-51 win over Wagner on Nov. 24.

It was Wagner’s ninth loss by nine points or more this young season.

"Losing is hard on everybody," Deane said. "But when things are going the way they are right now, you have to be really aggressive if you want to turn it around."

The defeat, on the eve of a four-game-in-11-day road swing, leaves the Seahawks no option but to regroup in a hurry.

"We have to come together," said guard Tyler Murray in the moments following the final buzzer. "We have to bond right now and work at getting better. That’s all we can do."

NOTES: After Princeton, Wagner travels to Brown on Jan. 4 ... Last night marked the fifth time this season the Seahawks have been held to under 60 points ... Rich LaGrotta, Engles’ high school coach at St. Peter’s, was behind the NJIT bench ... Wagner was 1 of 13 from three-point range in the second half.